Russia Continues Arms Supplies to Syria, No Plans Yet for Military Base

Russia reiterated its call for unifying efforts in combating terrorism on the basis of international law and under the supervision of the UN Security Council, describing the “achievements” of international coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as “humble”.

Russian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement quoted by Russia Today website on Wednesday that a number of countries involved in the US-led anti-terrorism coalition are still financing and arming “armed opposition” which is fighting against Syrian Arab Army, the main force in the fight against ISIS.

The ministry pointed out that the international coalition had been established without endorsement by the UN Security Council, noting that contrary to the situation in Iraq where the coalition is working at a request of the Iraqi government, there is no such coordination with the legal authorities in Syria in a way that circumvents the UN Security Council resolutions.

“The coalition has launched more than 5000 airstrikes and destroyed 7655 targets in addition to a number of special operations, all of which have failed to curb the spread of terrorists,” the statement said, noting a mounting resentment among the locals due to the coalitions’ raids and the mounting civilian death toll.

Moscow will continue supplying weapons to Syria in accordance with the international law, Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin has said.

“Russia has carried out and is still carrying out weapons supplies to the Syrian army… Russia never hid it… We have been doing it and we will continue doing it in accordance with the norms of international law,” Naryshkin said at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (PAOSCE) in Mongolia’s Ulan Bator.

“We urge the whole international community to unite in this struggle against the Islamic State terrorism and of course, to use these forces in this fight, first of all the Syrian army,” he stressed.

The ISIS would have already felt more comfortable on the Mediterranean Sea coast and moved further if the Syrian army had not been an efficient force, Naryshkin said.

In a statement to journalists, Naryshkin said that it is possible that the United States wanted to destabilize the Middle East deliberately so that refugees should flow to Europe, saying “It is clear for everyone that the United States is the ideologist behind the aforementioned interventions.”

“I am not a supporter of conspiracy theories but the question arises by itself – Is Europe the final aim of those destabilizing the situation in North Africa and Middle East over the last years with such maniacal persistence?” he wondered.

He noted that “Someone has possibly proposed it, knowing that flows of refugees, those poor people running from death, would head to EU’s prosperous countries.”

He wondered..”Have many European political leaders sincerely talked about the reasons of that crisis, the flow of refugees that is practically overwhelming their countries right now?” “No, old Europe prefers to keep silent, with rare exception.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia has and will continue providing military and technical assistance to Syria for combating terrorism which has become a top priority, calling on other countries to do the same.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation affirmed that Moscow is not planning in the current time to establish an air base in Syria but kept the door open to the possibility in the future.

Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolay Bogdanovsky said in press statement on Wednesday that there are no such plans as of yet, but added that “anything might happen.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced last week that Russia is not boosting its military presence in Syria, noting that there are Russian experts working in Syria under agreements between the two states and their task is to train the Syrian military on the use of Russian equipment.

Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that if the need arises for such further steps, Russia will work on this track in full conformity with international law and Russia’s international obligations, adding that any steps related to this issue will not take place only at the request and with the consent of the Syrian government.